I read that fenugreek is good for balancing insulin production, which DH desperately needs. So I've got these raw fenugreek seeds and I'm not sure what to do with them. Grind them into flour and add to a bread recipe? Sprout them and eat raw on salads?

Fenugreek is a curry spice, so I would imagine it would impart a pretty strong flavor to your bread. I'm not sure, though, since I haven't tasted it by itself. What I would do (and thought about doing for awhile) is to grind it up using a coffee/spice grinder and encapsulate it.

That's my .02, for what it's worth.

Christie ~ proud Mama to : 5/01, and : 3/07; and proud wife to my since 1992. We have 13 and 2 : It's looking more and more like either a farm or a zoo around here.

I take fenugreek. I bought an encapsulator and some powdered fenugreek. I make capsules and take them throughout the day. I also make tea with the whole seeds. It is good if you like maple! Fenugreek can make a person smell maple syrupy. You can also sprout the seeds and add them to food.

What I remember from Nourishing Traditions is that cinnamon doesn't regulate insulin - it increases it. That's why NT recommended putting a dash of cinnamon in sugary desserts, to get your insulin flowing to handle the sugar. In the case of a person whose body already overproduces insulin (like a diabetic or prediabetic), that sounds like it wouldn't be a good thing.

In India , I know older people take fenugreek seeds especially diabetics.
Soak a teaspoon of seeds overnight and eat it first thing in the morning on an empty stomach.Gulp it down its too bitter to chew, but if u can chew it then go for it!
Also, its used very sparingly in some indian recipes. I know its used in making kadi, then a dish with pumpkin and in some south indian recipes as a seasoning. Indian stores also carry methi( fenugreek) leaves.

What I remember from Nourishing Traditions is that cinnamon doesn't regulate insulin - it increases it. That's why NT recommended putting a dash of cinnamon in sugary desserts, to get your insulin flowing to handle the sugar. In the case of a person whose body already overproduces insulin (like a diabetic or prediabetic), that sounds like it wouldn't be a good thing.

It's a standard supplement herbalists use for diabetes. It is used across the board for people with regulatory issues. It can be used when you cannot produce insulin or if you overproduce and are resistant to it. It is fabulous for hypoglycemia. It doesn't increase insulin, it acts as a substitute so your body is required to produce less of it.

"More than 170 million people worldwide suffer from diabetes, and for many, drugs or other forms of treatment are unavailable. It may be possible that many of these people could benefit from readily available natural products such as cinnamon," said Graves.

This is the news that is most exciting for people who respond to low-carb diets, since most (or at least a substantial percentage) of us are probably insulin resistant or diabetic. Several studies have shown improved insulin sensitivity and blood glucose control by taking as little as ½ teaspoon of cinnamon per day. Improving insulin resistance can help in weight control as well as decreasing the risk for heart disease, so this has a lot of people interested. Although the results of preliminary studies are somewhat mixed, the majority of the research seems to be pointing in the direction of cinnamon being beneficial. Along with the improvement in blood sugar, these studies have documented improvements in triglycerides, blood pressure, and LDL cholesterol.

Interesting! Thanks for the info about cinnamon and diabetes. A few years ago DH had temporary good results with a low carb diet (temporary because we took a loss in income and had to go back to a rice & beans diet afterward). But last year he stayed on near-Induction-level low carb (at his doctor's recommendation) for 8 months and I don't think he lost a pound. He was about 80 lbs overweight and pre-diabetic (still is).

Now he's been able to lose 20 lbs by doing a detox juice fast (Master Cleanse) followed by the Milk Diet. Currently he's doing the 40-day Maker's Diet healing regimen, after which he'll just stay on TF.

I've added fenugreek sprouts to his salads, and will look into the cinnamon too. Is it something you have to get a naturopathic herbalist to prescribe, or can you just take a few cinnamon capsules a day without any bad side effects?

I used to soak fenugreek seeds with my oatmeal overnight in Keizer and eat that for breakfast with raisins and cinnamon. Now I mostly just sprout them to eat on salads. I started taking them when I was breast feeding my oldest. Logically I should have quit eating them when my youngest weaned about a year ago. However i still crave them on occasion so I try to make a jar of sprouted fenugreek once a month. Sometimes I add it with ginger to make a tea with honey but not too often.